Dark Forest
by NightfallSky
Summary: From PMD: Explorers of Sky. A Halloween fic. There comes an unusual mission with spooks added for Team Skylight.


**Hello, thank you for clicking this story! This is my very first fic for Pokemon. To be specific, this one is from Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky with the main characters Luca (male Riolu) and Veena (female Eevee) of Team Skylight. I literally played the game with these two, so they can be considered my original characters to some extent.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

**Enjoy the story. :D**

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><p>"<strong>What!?<strong>" Luca and Veena's voices were loud enough to echo in the second sublevel of Wigglytuff's guild.

In front of the two was Croagunk, who was standing behind the counter of his Swap Shop.

"That...can't be true, right?" Luca asked the Poison-type worriedly.

"At least that's what I heard. Meh-heh-heh," Croagunk answered with his signature snicker.

Veena fell completely silent. Her usual cheerful expression had turned sour.

_Earlier that day..._

The two Pokemon was getting prepared for their jobs like usual. Realizing that they had been storing too many things at Kangaskhan's, they decided to visit Wynaut at Spinda's cafe to recycle some items they no longer need.

Just as they had arrived at the entrance, a frantic looking Linoone ran up to them.

"Excuse me, a-are you Team Skylight?" the Pokemon asked.

"Umm...yes?" Luca answered.

"I... I need your help, Team Skylight," her voice was shaky. "My son Zigzagoon hasn't come home for 3 days."

"Oh dear. What happened?" Veena asked in concern.

"My son loves adventure and is a very energetic kid. He visits different areas everyday, sometimes with his friends, to play together. But since 3 days ago, he hasn't returned. I asked his friends about the place he may had gone to. They said he went to a place called 'Dark Forest', all by himself. I'm scared he might have gotten lost. I tried to look for him there, but the forest was so big and dark. The wild Pokemon there kept attacking me all of sudden, I got knocked out before I could find my son." Linoone explained, almost breaking into tears.

Veena's long ears drooped down, feeling sorry. Then she put on a determined face and hold Linoone's paws. "Please, don't be sad, ma'am. We'll find your son!"

Linoone looked up with renewed hope. "R-really?"

The Eevee nodded firmly. "We just can't let him wander inside a dangerous forest alone, right Luca?"

"Of course! We'll try our best to find him and bring him back to you," the Riolu assured.

"Thank you... thank you so much!"

"You're welcome."

"After we finished preparing, we'll set off to the Dark Forest!"

"Right."

"I'm counting on you!"

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><p><em><strong>Croagunk's Swap Shop<strong>_

_"Dark Forest, eh? I think I know some information besides its location. You wanna hear?" Croagunk offered after pointing at the exact position of Dark Forest on Team Skylight's Wonder Map. The two Pokemon nodded. Why reject an information when there's a chance that it might be useful?_

_"It is said that when Dark Forest is covered with fog, many lonely spirits will gather there, and those who try to pass through the forest will be lost inside, forever."_

_"Wait a second, don't say-"_

_Croagunk's grin widened ever-so-slightly._

_"Dark Forest is right now in its foggiest time of the year. Meh-heh-heh."_

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><p>Veena shut her eyes tight, remembering what Croagunk told them. Not only she had a great fear against ghosts, she didn't think she would be good enough to fight ghost-type Pokemon. She was a normal-type and Luca was a fighting-type, it wouldn't be easy. And to make things worse, the 'getting lost inside forever' part had made her worry for their lives.<p>

"Veena?" Luca's call surprised her. "Are you okay?"

"...um," was the Eevee's only reply. They promised. They promised to Linoone. They had to go.

Luca put his paw on his partner's. "I'm scared too, you know," despite the statement he was smiling, albeit somewhat sadly.

"Luca..."

"But we've been through so much more impossible things, haven't us? Going to the future, fighting Primal Dialga, stopping world destruction, preventing Darkrai's evil scheme... I think what we're facing now is nothing much compared to them."

Veena lowered her head, looking at her feet. "...you're right," she acknowledged.

"See? That's why we should just believe in ourselves and everything will be okay."

Veena nodded. "Yeah, I should be strong instead of worrying too much. We'll... we'll definitely complete this mission! And save Linoone's son!"

Luca grinned. "Now that's the Veena I know!" He lifted up his paw to the air and so did Veena.

"Team Skylight!"

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><p><strong><em>Dark Forest, 12F<em>**

"Huff, huff, I wonder...how much further we need to go," the Riolu said, panting as he wiped his forehead.

"I...don't know...phew..." his partner mumbled, wearily lying on her stomach.

Dark Forest was not as easy as other dungeons they had gone. It wasn't very big, but it was very difficult to find the stairs. The wild Pokemon were -as predicted- mostly ghost-types like Haunter, Dusclops and Mismagius. To make things worse, rather than coming one by one, they tend to attack in a group of three or four. Despite having type disadvantage, both Luca and Veena's Bite attack had been useful, so they could defeat them with one strike or two.

There were Monster Houses here, too. **Lots** of them. So far -if Veena had counted correctly- the two had gotten into them five times. Two times they managed to get to the stairs first (with some damages taken, still), another two times with the help of Petrify Orbs, and in the last one they had no choice but to fight them all. After that, both took some Max Elixir and berries to recover themselves.

"Luca... Let's keep going."

"Alright."

After they walked for a while, they finally found the stairs without meeting any enemies.

**_Dark Forest, 13F_**

Luca and Veena arrived in a big empty space with nothing but grass and a giant old-looking tree in the center. The place was a bit foggy.

"This seems to be the innermost part of the forest," Luca said.

Veena only looked around.

"It's pretty quiet," Luca added, folding his arms. "We couldn't be lost or-"

"**Hellooooo...!?**" Veena suddenly yelled, her voice echoing around the area. Luca jerked in surprise.

A wind blew, making the grass and tree leaves rustle. The fog started to clear up. Then, another silence.

Luca and Veena's ears jerked up to hear a strange voice.

It sounded like someone laughing.

The two's fur stood on its end. Luca started to tremble while Veena took a step backward.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Luca now yelled, standing in front of his partner with defensive stance.

The next thing that happened was a ball flying right into Luca's face, knocking the Riolu down.

Veena quickly went to her partner. "Luca! Are you alright?"

"Uuh, ouch, that hurts," Luca groaned as he got up with Veena's help.

"Ah, I'm sorry!"

A small Pokemon with spiky brown fur was standing in front of the tree.

Veena narrowed her eyes ever slightly. 'Since when is a Pokemon there?'

The Pokemon ran to their direction, retrieving its ball. "Um, sorry again. I didn't mean to hit your face, really."

"It's okay, don't mind me," Luca replied. He suddenly realized something. "Wait a second!"

"Yes?" the Pokemon turned over its shoulder.

"Do you happen to be Zigzagoon?"

The little Pokemon smiled innocently. "I _am_ Zigzagoon, why?"

"Then he might be..." Veena mumbled. "Do you know Linoone?"

Zigzagoon's eyes went wide. "My mom? Is she looking for me?"

Luca nodded. "She's very worried. You should come back with us."

"..."

"Zigzagoon?"

"Oh, sorry. I was daydreaming. Hahaha!" Luca and Veena sweatdropped. "Okay, let's go home-no, let's play first! Just for one short round, please~?"

The pair looked at each other before they decided to fulfill the youngster's request.

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><p><strong><em>Guild, sublevel 1<em>**

"My son, where have you been!" Linoone exclaimed as she hugged Zigzagoon.

"Sorry, mom. I just kinda forgot about the time. I met with so many friends and they've been playing with me a lot!"

"Are they being nice to you?"

"You bet! They're funny too! We played catch, hide-and-seek, and tag! So much fun!"

"It's good to hear. Team Skylight, I'm really grateful for your help! Thank you!" Linoone exclaimed, bowing to Luca and Veena.

"Please ma'am, it's our job. We're just glad your son is safe," Luca said.

"Zigzagoon, be a good boy and next time, remember to come home on time, okay?" Veena said, patting Zigzagoon's head.

"Okay!"

"Here, please take this as a reward," Linoone said as she handed Veena a rainbow colored stone.

Veena admired the stone with sparkling eyes. "It's so pretty! But this looks valuable. Is it really okay?"

"Sure, I'd be very happy if you would accept it!"

"Thank you, I'll take good care of it!" Veena happily held the stone close to her chest.

Linoone grinned. "Now we can go home together, dear."

Her son nodded. "Yes, mom."

"Well then, you two, we'll be leaving."

"Take care-"

"...!"

Luca and Veena suddenly froze when they saw both Linoone and Zigzagoon were fading away.

_"When we get home, mom will cook your favorite food," Linoone said happily to her son._

_"Yay! I love you, mom!" Zigzagoon cheered, hugging his mother._

The Riolu and Eevee couldn't say anything. Their mouths were wide open in what seemed to be shock as they watched their clients fade away until they disappeared completely.

"...that's..."

"...what just..."

The two quickly rubbed their eyes in unison.

Then they shook their heads in disbelief. Clouds of random thoughts started to appear in their minds.

_'It must be a dream!'_

_'That was impossible, right!'_

_'Aren't Linoone and Zigzagoon normal-type Pokemon!?'_

_'I must've been seeing things!'_

_'Maybe I haven't got enough sleep last night?'_

_'Oh no, oh no! I think I'm gonna fall sick-!'_

"What are you two _doing_?" Someone's voice was heard.

"**Aaah!**" they screamed for a good half a minute before they stop and look at the voice's owner.

Croagunk stood in front of the ladder staring at them.

"Croagunk! About the Dark Forest-!"

"I see you managed to come back safely. So, it was a success huh? Meh-heh-heh."

"O-our clients just _disappeared_ into_ thin air_!" Veena choked out.

"Your story was true. There _really_ were ghosts!" Luca exclaimed.

"Heh. About that," Croagunk started. "Part of story turns out to be a hoax. No ghost gatherings after all. But there really was some Pokemon who got lost there. What Pokemon was it again? Lin-"

"L-L-Linoone?"

"That's right. Smart. So this Linoone went into the forest to search for its kid one time and never came out years after. I think it's clear that something happened to it. Meh-heh."

Silence fell between them.

Veena, finally calmed down, glanced at the rainbow stone in her paws. That Linoone _really_ was...

Luca looked at the stone too. "We've done the right thing."

"I know..." Veena stated with a weak smile.

_At least, they are together now._

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><p><strong>I know, weird ending. Sorry, but I can't think of any other way to end this. <strong>**Thank you for reading until the end. Do excuse the grammatical mistakes.**

**Lastly, Happy Halloween to all of you. May I have some reviews as my treats, please? :3**


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